Vol. XXII. No. 6.] 



POPULAE SOTETsTCE NEAVS. 



93 



;^eDtttne anH Piiarmatp. 



THE MIND-CURE. 



The mind-cure craze, with its various modi- 

 fications of faith-cure, mental healing, Chris- 

 tian science, and other foolishness, appears to 

 have originated in this city, whence it has 

 spread in all directions, until there is hardly- a 

 city or town of anj- size in the countrj- but 

 has one or more disciples of this latest de- 

 velopment of the art of healing all manner 

 of diseases without the aid of physician or 

 medicine. 



We must confess that we have not a ver}- 

 clear comprehension of the intricate doctrines 

 of this new school, and, in fact, have never 

 heard or read any thing on the subject from 

 its disciples which has lifted in the slightest 

 degree the cloud of ignorance in which we are 

 enveloped. Neither do we see in what the 

 " faith-healer " differs from a " Christian 

 scientist," or a "metaphysician" from the 

 only original "mind-healer." The explana- 

 tions given b}- the adepts in these mystic arts 

 have an amusing resemblance to the theorj- of 

 the famous Keeley motor as elucidated by its 

 inventor, — "sound and furj', signifying noth- 

 ing." We understand, however, that the 

 general idea as agreed upon bj- the different 

 sects is, that there is a certain power in the 

 human mind which influences the material 

 body, and ma}' do so to such an extent, par- 

 ticularly when strengthened by faith in the 

 power of the Supreme Being, that disease may 

 be cured without the aid of material medicine 

 or medical care of any sort. 



Tlie good effect of the companionship of a 

 cheerful and strong-minded person upon one 

 of a feeble and depressed spirit is undeniable. 

 Often, from long-continued illness, the patient 

 is brought into such a condition that he takes 

 his illness as a matter of course, loses all con- 

 fidence in himself, and makes no effort what- 

 ever towards recovery, even when the natural 

 course of the disease is entirel}- terminated. 

 In such a case, the performances of a bright, 

 cheerful, vigorous mind-healer, who assures 

 the patient that there is nothing the matter 

 with him, and he has only to say that he is 

 well and he will be well, would doubtless have 

 a surprising effect ; but in such a case there is 

 no more a cure of disease than there is in 

 urging forward a tired or lazy horse. We do 

 not beKeve that there is anj- power whatever 

 in the human mind to change the natural 

 course of any organic or functional disease in 

 the slightest degree. 



We all know that pain exists, and have 

 known what it is. A person suffering from 

 the toothache is not easily convinced that 

 tliere is "no such thing as pain." He is un- 

 pleasantlj- aware that there is such a thing as 

 the toothache, and that the only effective 

 ' mind-cure " is to make up his mind to inter- 

 view the dentist. And if the power of the 

 will cannot even stop the vibrations of an ex- 

 posed dental nerve, how much less effect must 

 it have upon the progress of any serious 

 disease, where the most important functions 



of the system may be impaired, the tissues 

 themselves structurally changed, or the bones 

 broken ! for some persons even go so far as 

 to sa}- that broken bones may be made to 

 mend themselves by this wonderful power, and 

 soberly give instances occurring in their own 

 experience. There is but one answer to make 

 to these persons who tax our credulity with 

 such stories, and that is the answer to a certain 

 classical conundrum involving an impossibilitj', 

 — the boy lied. 



A ver3" strong point in favor of the mind- 

 cure is the fact that the tendenc}' of the 

 majoritj' of diseases is towards recovery. 

 Regular physicians are everj' day trusting 

 more and more to the vis medicatrix naturce, 

 and less to the power of drugs and chemicals. 

 Simple remedies and good nursing are half the 

 battle ; and if a patient afflicted with the mumps, 

 measles, sore throat, or even some of the moi-e 

 serious diseases, is treated bj' any of the dif- 

 ferent classes of mental healers, he will proba- 

 bl}- recover, and another victor}- is scored for 

 " Christian science." The fact that he would 

 have got well anywa}', even if he had been 

 "conjured" by a negro voudou or anointed 

 with oil bj' a Mormon elder, is not taken into 

 account. 



An enthusiastic healer once related to us 

 the remarkable success he had had in the treat- 

 ment of a small boy who had developed an 

 exceedingly vigorous boil. " The treatment 

 was perfectly- successful," he declared. "Did 

 the boil break?" we inquired. "Oh, j-es, 

 after a week's treatment it broke, and the 

 child was soon perfectly well." We said 

 nothing more, but recalled to mind several 

 instances in our own personal experience 

 where these "Job's comforters" had broken 

 without the slightest exercise of faith, will- 

 power, or even Christian science on our part. 



The acceptance of such absurd theories 

 among so manj- persons of superior intelli- 

 gence and intellectual ability' is hard to account 

 for, and we can only explain it b}- the lack of 

 scientific training in the schools. So much 

 time is taken up with the dead languages, or 

 wasted in innumerable studies of little or no 

 importance, that no time is left for the attain- 

 ment of the power to make observations cor- 

 rectly, and reason upon them in an intelligent 

 and scientific manner ; and until a radical 

 change is made in this respect, we fear that 

 mind-cures, patent medicines, Keeley motors, 

 perpetual motions, and the thousand and one 

 humbugs of ever3-da3- life, will continue to 

 flourish, and gather in their dupes as here- 

 tofore. 



[Speci.Tlly compiled for the Popular Science News.] 



MONTHLY SUMMARY OF MEDICAL 

 PROGRESS. 



BY W. S. WELLS, M.D. 



Dr. Paulinis publishes, in the Bulletin MMi- 

 cal, a report of an epidemic of diphtheria occur- 

 ring in one of the Grecian isles, which lends 

 considerable support to the possibilitj' that 

 this disease may originate from poultry. 



For over thirty years no case of diphtheria 



had been seen on the island. Suddenly the 

 disease developed, and five fatal cases occurred 

 in one family. The epidemic soon spread 

 through the entire community, thirty-six 

 dying from the disease. Upon examination 

 to discover its source, it was found that a 

 flock of turkeys had been received, some three 

 weeks before, from Salonica. Two of the 

 turkeys were sick on their arrival, and each 

 of the others was attacked in succession. 

 Dr. Paulinis found two of them still sick, and 

 inspection showed patches of pseudo-mem- 

 brane on the mucous membrane of the vault 

 of the palate and of the pharynx. 



On detaching strips of the exudation by the 

 forceps, the mucous membrane beneath was 

 seen to bleed slightly. The glands of the 

 neck were swollen, and in one of the fowls 

 the diphtheritic process had extended to the 

 larjnx, as was shown by the hoarseness of 

 the cr}- and the difficult breathing. One of the 

 turkeys, which had recovered from the throat 

 aflfectio'n, sufllered from paralysis of the legs, 

 being unable to walk. 



The garden where the turkeys were was at 

 the northern extremit}- of the town, and the 

 first children attacked were in the immediate 

 neighborhood ; and there was a north wind 

 blowing the greater part of the time, which 

 the doctor believes disseminated the germs of 

 the disease. He concluded, from his experi- 

 ence, that the diphtheria of the fowl is similar 

 in its course and symptoms to the disease 

 occurring in man, and that it can be carried 

 from the one to the other, sometimes through 

 the medium of the air. This suggestion that 

 the human disease might originate from, or be 

 spread through the agency of, chickens or other 

 poultry, has been noted by other writers, as 

 well as that cats or other pets maj' conve}' the 

 poison from one family to another. 



At the St. Louis Medico-Chirurgical Society 

 Dr. Todd stated that in the dissecting-room 

 had been found a subject without clavicles 

 (collar-bones). There was nothing but a 

 fibrous cord to represent them. In the litera- 

 ture of the subject which he had searched 

 Dr. Todd had been unable to find any cases 

 of this kind reported, althougli the radius, 

 fibula, and some other bones have in rare 

 cases been found absent. In the remarks 

 following, Dr. Barclaj' observed that it was an 

 interesting fact in comparative anatomy that 

 in some species of the cat tribe the clavicles 

 are simply rudimentary. Dr. Fr^- stated that 

 several varieties of highlj' organized vertebrata 

 have no clavicles ; the bears, for instance. 



Dr. Todd continued b}- stating that very few 

 animals have clavicles. It is onl}- those ani- 

 mals that use the anterior extremities as man 

 does, that have clavicles at all. The herbivora 

 and carnivora, even the lion, has none. The 

 clavicle of the African lion is onlj- an inch and 

 a half or two inches long, and is embedded in 

 a mass of muscles of the neck. Of course, 

 in these animals the shoulders do not have to 

 be kept apart. 



In birds, where the pectoral muscles (breast) 



